Strassmann, Paul A. 1997. The Squandered Computer: Evaluating the Business Alignment of Information Technologies (Information Economics Press). 75: "In 1992 I met with the statistical staff from the Department of Commerce to gain an understanding of how they translated current IT budgets into comparable 1987 dollars. The analysts relied primarily on the mainframe manufacturers' published claims about the declining costs of dollars per Million Instructions per Second (MIPS) for their adjustment calculations. The statisticians did not make adequate allowance for the eighty percent of IT budgets that were the salaries which had inflated steadily. The government projections about the growth of computer budgets in the Federal government understated historical costs. Such abstract calculations made possible claims about past cost containment. They made it possible to claim future expense reductions against fictitious costs." -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
